An OECD education report has shown New Zealand students have a strong understanding of scientific knowledge, outscoring heavyweights such as the US and UK.
The 2006 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment)
surveyed 400,000 15-year-old students in 57 countries, testing
their science knowledge on subjects such as climate change,
genetically modified crops and the importance of physical
exercise.
The report, which is carried out every three years, also tested
maths and reading but put a special focus this time on science
because of its growing importance in technologically-based
economies.
Finnish 15-year-olds had the best science knowledge, South Korea took the top spot in reading while Taipei students were the smartest at maths.
On average across OECD countries, 1.3% of 15-year-olds reached
Level 6 of the PISA 2006 science scale, the highest proficiency
level. These students could consistently identify, explain and
apply scientific knowledge, and knowledge about science, in a
variety of complex life situations.
In New Zealand and Finland this figure was at least 3.9%, three
times the OECD average.
Finland ranked top in the science survey with a mean score of 563,
beating Hong Kong into second place with 542 and Canada into third
with a score of 534.
In reading and maths New Zealand students were ranked 5th and
11th respectively.
The United States, Spain and Italy were among 32 countries that
were classed as statistically below the Organisation for Economic
Cooperate and Development (OECD) average.
"In today's technology-based societies, understanding fundamental
scientific concepts and theories and the ability to structure and
solve scientific problems are more important than ever," the report
said.
It urged countries to strengthen their science staff to encourage
student enthusiasm and to make sure pupils who will not end up
working in science to continue some scientific study.
The report said only a minority of students wanted to work in
science. It also found that students from wealthier backgrounds
were more likely to think science was important.
Extra questions
The students mostly carried out pencil and paper tasks in the tests
but in three countries some students were given extra questions on
a computer.
South Korean teenagers were the world leaders at reading with a
mean score of 556, ahead of Finland with 547 in second place and
Hong Kong in third place with 536.
"In Korea, performance on the reading literacy scale is above that
of any other OECD country, even higher than in Finland, which was
the top-performer in reading in PISA 2000 and PISA 2003," the
report said.
It said Korea has improved its average performance mainly by
significantly raising performance among more able students while
performance at the lower end of the scale was largely
unchanged.
Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Norway were among those
countries significantly below the OECD average in reading.
In mathematics, Taipei came first with a mean score of 549, with
Finland in second with 548 and Hong Kong a joint third with Korea
on 547. The United States, Italy, Spain and Portugal were below the
OECD average on the mathematics scale.
"The wide disparities in student performance in mathematics within
most countries ... suggest that excellence throughout systems still
remains a remote goal and that countries need to serve a wide range
of student abilities," the report said.
